Homeowners find a design-build team that shares their vision

Motoya Nakamura/The OregonianJohn Falk and Lynn Dierking, both professors at Oregon State University, enjoy the Asian touches they've added to their Corvallis home and garden.

CORVALLIS --

Just beyond the frenzy of Fraternity Row, Northwest Harrison Street changes its name as the landscape changes its vista.

Northwest Oak Creek Drive rolls out of this college town and into the farmland and lush hillsides that surround the bustle of Oregon State University. It is here -- a mere five minutes from the heart of campus -- that two OSU professors found their haven.

Well, the house wasn't a haven then. But the view out the back of the '70s-era ranch was stunning: mature firs; an occasional prancing deer; campus landmark Weatherford Hall in the distance. And on a clear day, the bonus bling of the snowcapped Three Sisters.

The serene setting won over the Maryland transplants, who were undaunted by the home's cut-up interior that failed to embrace the view. They had some pretty clear ideas of what the house could become.

"I like Asian," says John Falk, "the simplicity, the clarity of the lines and the design."

Falk and Lynn Dierking are both professors in the Department of Science & Mathematics Education who teach Free-Choice Learning, the study of the lifelong process of education.

Falk has learned -- the hard way -- that they would need someone who welcomed collaboration. He has remodeled numerous homes over the years, and amassed myriad horror stories of his design ideas handled rather brutally by under-skilled contractors.

But when Falk and Dierking met Emma and Joel Kirk, a refreshing connection was made.

"I think Aretha Franklin had it right: R.E.S.P.E.C.T," Joel Kirk says, spelling out the importance of honoring the homeowners' ideas. "John had a real vision. It took a lot of thought on his part, and we respected that."

Dierking says they contacted the Corvallis husband-wife firm, Kirk Design and Construction, to consult on a fence. But one thing led to another, and soon Dierking and Falk were sharing their ideas and the Kirks got it, Dierking says. Not only did they get "inside our vision," Dierking says, they spent the time and energy to find the perfect materials and the methods to install those materials.

Joel Kirk says that as the project moved along, Falk could see the potential and was downright thrilled they were carrying out his vision.

It was not a speedy process, Kirk says. "It went on for a long time." But they all agreed the remodel would take the time it needed to do it right.

Falk and Dierking had initially considered prefinished flooring, but Joel Kirk balked.

"I could see what he was seeing," Kirk says about Falk's desire for a light-colored floor that appeared seamless. "But the lines in prefinished flooring weren't quite right. They'd interfere," Kirk says of the more pronounced edges of prefinished boards.

Their choice: clear maple flooring used throughout the main floor, including the Zenlike master suite, where indoors and outdoors intertwine.

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

THE KITCHEN

Taking a wall down between the kitchen and the dining room opened the main floor and let in the view from all angles. It also allowed Dierking and Falk to spread out and create the large kitchen of Dierking's dreams.

"Both of us love to cook and love to have people over," Dierking says. "The kitchen was really important. ... I lived in small homes my whole life and didn't want a small galley kitchen. When you have a party, everyone ends up in the kitchen. So, we'll celebrate that," she says of the wide-open space. "I wanted an island, but as all my friends say, I have a peninsula now."

In the far corner, a counter area is dedicated solely to coffee -- something Falk wanted.

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

THE BATHROOM

The Zen-inspired bathroom, with its view of a Buddha resting in the garden, was also a collaborative effort. Falk laid out and numbered the tiles that surround the screened-in soaking tub so the grain aligned. Emma Kirk put them meticulously into place.

"It was cool that the clients cared that much, because we did," Joel Kirk says.

The clean, unfettered lines of the Asian design Falk and Dierking desired meant that the Kirks had to be precise with the placement and fit of every board and tile used throughout the remodel. There would be no trim work or molding to hide poorly mitered corners or sloppy installations.

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

THE FOYER

In the foyer, Falk wanted the steppingstones of the front walkway to continue into the house, creating a virtually seamless entry. Joel Kirk made a template of where the stones would go, laid the floor, placed the template and routed out the space to inlay the stones.

"That was quite an operation," Dierking says with a laugh.

A lot of time and energy were spent on the entire foyer, from the Japanese lantern that became the lighting fixture over the stairs to the door, the sidelight and the coat closet with its shoji-screen sliding doors.

"This is a custom door and sidelight that John designed," Emma Kirk says of the front door. "We had them made by some folks in Springfield. The sliders were also custom, and they were made by an outfit in Montana. And," she continues, moving her hand horizontally through the air from the sidelight over the door to the closet, "it was really important to John that this line stayed the same around and over to that closet door. That," she says in all seriousness, "took a lot of documentation back and forth."

"This door took a lot of effort," Dierking says to a round of laughter from the two couples, who clearly became fond of each other throughout the year-plus project that began as a fence job but developed into much more.

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

THE LIVING ROOM

Around the fireplace is a cozy place to just sit and enjoy -- something Falk's brother wanted. He'd found their Maryland house a little too austere.

"Every time he'd come to visit he'd say on his way out, 'Lynn, you've got to get this guy to buy you a couch.'" Dierking says. "The one thing I knew I wanted was a cozier place." The living area is framed with a beautiful screen and a soft couch, with a colorful soft rug underfoot.

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

THE DETAILS

In every renovated space, there were crucial touches -- such as the tassels on the partially open entry gate, left -- and the square doorknobs, right, that were not so easy to find. The designers finally found them online through Baldwin Hardware. Those details, says Falk, were the key to the success of the project.

Motoya Nakamura/The Oregonian

DESIGN TEAM

Emma and Joel Kirk

Firm: Kirk Design and Construction

Years in business: 8

Award: This project earned the Kirks the National Association of the Remodeling Industry's Contractor of the Year for the Northwest region in the category of Residential Remodel Over $100,000.